Fungal powder to feed the world

‘We find that virtually all elements of our fungus are highly useful and extremely nutritious’, says Gilbert Verschelling, CTO of The Protein Brewery. ‘It contains not only proteins and fibres, but also vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances. In short, it constitutes a very complete nutritional source.’ And that is good news, because the world’s population continues to grow rapidly. Around 2037, we will likely reach 9 billion inhabitants; 20 years later, another billion more. ‘The demand for food is therefore considerable, and we are increasingly realising that we cannot manage on animal proteins alone’, says Verschelling. Plant-based proteins exist as an alternative, of course. But according to The Protein Brewery, fungi too can make a full contribution.

Survival of the fittest

The Breda-based start-up produces Fermotein®. ‘It consists of the entire fungal biomass’, explains Ap de Haan, Plant Improvement Manager and The Protein Brewery’s first employee. ‘But dried and milled.’ This fungus, Rhizomucor pusillus, is naturally an extremophile. ‘We selected it through a rigorous selection method so that it grows particularly well under specific conditions [such as high temperature and pH, ed.] where all its direct competitors perish. Here, it truly is survival of the fittest.’

Because no other micro-organisms can survive under those conditions, the fermentation process can proceed in a relatively straightforward manner. This not only reduces costs considerably, but also results in far lower CO₂ emissions and water consumption. Verschelling: ‘That absolutely helps us achieve strong market adoption and delivers a meaningful sustainable impact on the world.’ The fungus requires ammonia as a nitrogen source and glucose syrup derived from, for example, wheat as a carbon source, and subsequently grows rapidly, De Haan explains. ‘Once this basic process works sufficiently well, we will move on to developing more complex carbon sources, such as starch from potatoes or cassava. We also intend, in due course, to valorise residual streams from food production.’ After harvesting, the biomass is dewatered and pasteurised. ‘That is how we kill off the fungus. It then becomes a matter of drying and milling’, says De Haan.

Fish feed

The Protein Brewery is a spin-off from contract research company BioScienZ. ‘That company develops and optimises fermentation processes and is led by Wim de Laat’, says De Haan. ‘He is an inexhaustible source of ideas, and towards the end of the last decade he came up with the plan to carry out fermentation using an extremophilic fungus. I was involved from the very beginning as well.’

‘We also intend, in due course, to valorise residual streams from food production’

Ap de Haan

Initially, the two focused on producing fish feed. ‘Then we received a request from a major player in the meat substitute sector, asking whether we might be better off producing food for people, given that the fungus had proven to be such a high-quality protein source.’ No sooner said than done. An extensive screening process began. ‘We wanted a fungus with as complete an amino acid profile as possible’, De Haan explains. ‘And the harvested biomass had to be colourless, odourless and flavourless. Because adding masking agents is costly.’

Once the fungus had been selected — and The Protein Brewery established as of January 2020 — process development began, followed by scale-up. This led, in June 2021, to a pilot facility and, in January of the following year, to a first commercial production facility in Breda. ‘We now have two 90,000-litre fermenters there’, says Verschelling. ‘But we already have plans, made possible in part by a recent Series B investment of 30 million euros, to move towards a factory 20 to 30 times larger within a few years. That means scaling up from hundreds to thousands of tonnes of Fermotein® per year. With that, we can make a serious mark.’

‘In Europe, unfortunately, everything takes a little longer’

Gilbert Verschelling

Meal bar

In terms of applications, they think broadly. ‘For instance, incorporating the fungal powder into a biscuit, a dairy alternative, a nutritional drink or a healthy meal bar’, says Verschelling. ‘We have already received approval for production and sale in the United States and Singapore for a number of products. In Europe, unfortunately, everything takes a little longer, but we expect approval there shortly as well.’ Meanwhile, there are plenty of improvement plans for the production technology, De Haan notes. ‘There is no fermentation plant that has already achieved its ultimate process when it first goes into operation. I think that is also the charm of this field; there is always room for improvement.’

‘We will certainly be kept busy for quite some time yet’, Verschelling agrees. ‘How can it be made even simpler and cheaper, and what further applications are there? Time and again, we discover new and remarkable things about our fungus. For example, we recently found that it also contains certain bioactive compounds that could be suitable for food products that support healthy ageing. There is now a project running on that.’ With Fermotein®, the team at The Protein Brewery hopes to make a serious impact on the world. ‘The food of the future ought to be sustainable, healthy and, naturally, simply delicious as well’, says Verschelling. ‘And we believe we can help provide that. That is our point on the horizon on which we continue to focus.’